Monarch does not have the right to sell its airport takeoff and landing slots, potentially the most valuable remaining part of the failed airline, a court in London ruled on Wednesday, Reuters reported. In a blow to administrators seeking to recoup money, the High Court rejected Monarch’s claim that it must be allocated slots for summer 2018 and said they will be placed into a pool. “We are disappointed with today’s ruling and will be seeking leave to appeal as a matter of urgency,” Blair Nimmo, partner at KPMG and joint administrator of Monarch, said.

The private equity owner of Four Seasons, Britain’s largest care home operator, has proposed relinquishing control of the debt-laden company to its creditors for a “nominal sum”, having incurred £450m in losses, the Financial Times reported. Terra Firma’s move comes after the main creditors, H/2 Capital, suggested a debt-restructuring plan aimed at rescuing the struggling business. Under the US hedge fund’s proposition, Terra Firma would have kept an 11 per cent stake in the full business.

The largest creditor in Four Seasons, the UK’s largest care provider, has rejected a proposed restructuring plan of its multi-million pound debt, leading to a bruising fight with its private-equity owner, the Financial Times reported. H/2 Capital has launched proposals that it argues create a business less heavily dependent on debt and does more to improve the care-home business. Four Seasons provides care to 17,000 people, and it has publicly said it will default on its debt next month, having failed to reach a deal with bondholders.

The Bank of England has increased interest rates for the first time since 2007, despite fears for the fragility of the UK economy as its 2019 departure from the European Union nears, the Irish Times reported. Policymakers on the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to increase interest rates to 0.5 per cent, up a quarter of a point, by a majority of seven to two.

Danske Bank in Northern Ireland has reported a pre-tax profit of £77.4 million (€88.1 million) for the first nine months of 2017. The latest financial results show a £20 million year on year fall in pre-tax profits - over the corresponding period in 2016 Danske Bank’s profits had previously hit £98.1 million, the Irish Times reported. The Copenhagen headquartered bank has blamed the “adverse impact” of the Bank of England’s base rate on its income levels as well has higher expenses from a restructuring programme.

The head of Britain's financial watchdog told Royal Bank of Scotland to speed up its handling of compensation claims related to its treatment of struggling businesses during the financial crisis, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG) has been accused by customers of driving them to bankruptcy in order to pick up their assets on the cheap. State-owned RBS has set aside 400 million pounds to cover the bill for claims against it.

The number of people registering as insolvent in England and Wales hit a five-year high in the third quarter, according to figures on Friday that hinted at trouble brewing in Britain’s consumer economy, Reuters reported. The government’s Insolvency Service said 27,807 people in England and Wales registered as insolvent between July and September, up from 22,389 in the three months to June and marking the biggest total since the third quarter of 2012. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the figure was just short of a three-year high struck in the first quarter of 2017.

Britain's financial watchdog is considering further action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its treatment of struggling companies during and after the financial crisis, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday published a detailed summary of a report into RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG), after clashing with lawmakers over the disclosure of its full contents. Customers have accused the GRG of pushing ailing firms into bankruptcy to pick up their assets on the cheap.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has agreed to allow a confidential report on the Royal Bank of Scotland's treatment of struggling companies to be scrutinised by a barrister, MPs said on Tuesday. In a letter to MPs , Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, agreed to allow a barrister to check a summary of the report against its full contents, which the regulatory agency says was never meant to be public, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story.

The owner of failed British airline Monarch should, in principle, foot some of the bill for a massive repatriation effort co-ordinated by the country’s aviation authority, British transport minister Chris Grayling said on Monday. Monarch collapsed two weeks ago, wrecking the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of Britons, a year after owner Greybull Capital secured a bailout for the struggling airline, Reuters reported.